Batman was a figment of the U.S. pop culture and never had much market outside the U.S., this was until 2005. In 2005 the first instalment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins came out. It gave a hint to the world that a superhero movie can actually be a good movie. Then in 2008 Nolan brought Batman back and reintroduced Joker through The Dark Knight, a movie that was equally well received by viewers and consumers alike. Finally the much awaited finale of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises released on this 20th with the tagline ‘The Epic Conclusion’ and the movie lives up to this claim. Set eight years after the event of The Dark Knight, the audience are presented with a much older Batman who is in no physical or mental condition to go head on with a villain like Bane and walk away in single piece from it.

Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan once again manage to nail the script to perfection. The way Nolan directed the script once again points to his fine quality as a director. The movie is riddled with high octane action pieces and edge of seat thrills. The movie attains a level few superhero movies, with the exception of The Dark Knight, managed to attain before. Christian Bale carries the titular character very well, as he did in the previous movies. He delivers all the varying emotions with much ease and precision.

Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman were as good as they were in the last two movies. Among the new casts, Tom Hardy as Bane was very good, while Marion Cotillard was modest and comfortable in her small yet pivotal role. But the ones that deserve utmost mentioning and recognition are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. These two managed to steal the show whenever they were present on screen.

The script was not as dark or as gritty or as crisp as its predecessor, yet it manages to bring to audience a compelling final instalment. Heath Ledger, with his Academy award winning portrayal of Joker in The Dark Knight, had set the bar very high for the antagonist in the series. Tom Hardy was left with the very strenuous task of filling the void left by Ledger. It has to be accepted that Hardy is not in the same league as Ledger yet he has delivered a very impressive performance. Yet in the books of many critics his Bane falls far shorter to that of Ledger’s Joker. Yet the screen play is so gripping that it manages to deliver an immense punch and the hopelessness that the audience feel about Gotham and Batman is even better that it was in The Dark Knight.

Back then he was a young, physically fit Batman, someone who had something or someone to live for and someone who can take the punishment. But in this movie that is not the case. We see that Bruce is a recluse and even his Batman is nothing more than a shadow of its former glory.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has delivered a very enthusiastic and vibrant performance in his role as Gotham Police Detective. He has been to the first half of the movie what Gary Oldman had been to the first two movies. His character is well written, well fleshed out and looks like a younger version of Bruce Wayne himself. Thus the character gives us hope for the future of the series while Anne Hathaway gives us the best Cat Woman yet. Unlike the previous Cat Women on silver screen Hathaway’s character is much more convincing and well grounded that, we actually feel like rooting to cheer for her.

To begin with, she is not an all out baddy nor is she obsessed with cats. Even though the film is not going into her past to show her origin, it is strongly implied that she has well-built reasons for what she is. Also Nolan created this character not as a feeble supporting actor waiting for the Knight in his Dark armour to save, but as a very strong person and highly trained person, an equal to Batman, a bit misguided though.

All in all, I find the movie very fascinating and very well made; a fitting conclusion to a series of its magnitude.